Locals React to Federal Courts Ruling to Uphold Ban on Gay Marriage in Tennessee
Chuck Hill and his husband Mario have been married for six years, but they live in Tennessee, so their marriage isn’t recognized.
That’s because Tennessee has a ban on gay marriage, and on Thursday, a federal appeals court upheld that ban.
"There are judges that are putting their personal opinions into our laws and that has got to stop," Hill said.
Bradley County Commissioner Dan Rawls looks at the ruling as a win for states’ rights, since Tennessee residents already voted in 2006 to put the ban on gay marriage.
"This is an issue that was here, it was voted on by the electorate. This is a decision that they reach. I don’t think the federal government has any authority to come in and overrule what Is voted on here," Rawls said.
For the gay community it’s a step backwards, but Chattanooga Tea Party President Mark West says the opposite.
"I choose to see it as a step forward because ultimately the foundational building block of any society is the family and this is promoting the family. Family as being defined all the way back in Genesis as being between a man and a woman and their children," West said.
Hill has been fighting for gay rights since the 80s and says this isn’t the end of the road for their movement.
"It maybe 25 or 30 years from now, when all the people who have stood in it’s way are dead and gone, and the people who are coming up and coming into life now, who could care less about what somebody’s doing in their bedroom, that’s when it will change. It is going to change," said Hill.
That’s because Tennessee has a ban on gay marriage, and on Thursday, a federal appeals court upheld that ban.
"There are judges that are putting their personal opinions into our laws and that has got to stop," Hill said.
Bradley County Commissioner Dan Rawls looks at the ruling as a win for states’ rights, since Tennessee residents already voted in 2006 to put the ban on gay marriage.
"This is an issue that was here, it was voted on by the electorate. This is a decision that they reach. I don’t think the federal government has any authority to come in and overrule what Is voted on here," Rawls said.
For the gay community it’s a step backwards, but Chattanooga Tea Party President Mark West says the opposite.
"I choose to see it as a step forward because ultimately the foundational building block of any society is the family and this is promoting the family. Family as being defined all the way back in Genesis as being between a man and a woman and their children," West said.
Hill has been fighting for gay rights since the 80s and says this isn’t the end of the road for their movement.
"It maybe 25 or 30 years from now, when all the people who have stood in it’s way are dead and gone, and the people who are coming up and coming into life now, who could care less about what somebody’s doing in their bedroom, that’s when it will change. It is going to change," said Hill.
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